CARLSBAD  Carlsbad High’s water polo team will go for its ninth straight San Diego Section Division I championship this year. Here’s a look at the Lancers and their success:

The streak

The dominant boys water polo programs over the past 25 years have been Coronado, Bishop’s, Valhalla and Poway. When J.B. Feaster took over as head coach at Carlsbad High in 1996 it was with the idea of building the Lancers into a power of similar stature.

“It was Valhalla and Poway in our division and that’s where we were setting the bar,” said Feaster, who was head coach at Sonora High in Orange County before coming to Carlsbad. “That’s who we were trying to become.”

Valhalla has won 11 section championships. Poway has won four. But both programs were eclipsed the past decade as Carlsbad emerged and won an unprecedented eight straight titles (2003-10). For comparison, Coronado (1987-91) and Bishop’s (2002-06) are tied for second with five straight titles.

There was a natural progression for the Lancers, who reached the quarterfinals several times in the late 1990s. Then made it to the semifinals and finally the finals.

Carlsbad played for the championship for the first time in school history in 2002, losing 7-5 to Mt. Carmel. Then came the flood of championships.

What’s the best thing about the streak?

“It shows the consistency of the program,” Feaster said. “To be able to be in the CIF finals nine years in a row shows that you’ve built a solid program. It’s not a one-year thing. ... You’ve established something and the foundation is solid.”

What’s the most difficult thing about the streak?

“The hardest thing is fighting complacency,” Feaster said. “I became a head coach in 1988, and I didn’t win until 2003. So I know what it’s like not to win, and I don’t take it for granted, even after eight.

“You’ve got to keep pushing yourself to get better. But the guys on the team have come in here and they know nothing else. It’s sort of expected. But you can’t come in with that expectation. You need to know about all the hard work and everything that went into getting to this point.”

Foundation for success

Establishing a strong club program in Carlsbad has been essential to perpetuating the Lancers’ success.

“Now they’re starting them as early as 10 and under,” Feaster said. “That’s where we’ve reaped the benefit. ... Once you have kids in the program, then kids tell their friends and we start getting younger siblings and kids who have already been playing. It just grows like that.”

Sweat the small stuff

Feaster said he doesn’t mention the streak or dwell on winning CIF once the season begins.

“At the beginning of the year when we go over team goals. We say we want to win CIF,” he said. “But in order to win CIF, you have to do these steps. And if we do those, then we might have a chance.